The Vampire Lestat, the third season of Interview with the Vampire, opens with heavily reverbed drums and chugging electric guitars, sounding like a 70s glam-rock anthem. The show has transformed from a lush period drama into a glam-rock musical, with Lestat forming a band to channel his rage after the publication of his biography. The series, based on Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles, previously followed vampires Louis de Pointe du Lac and Lestat de Lioncourt in 1910 New Orleans, with a second timeline in 2022. Now, in 2025, Lestat storms through a bloody stopover in Detroit on tour.
From Velvet Jackets to Glitter Stomps
The old orchestral theme has been replaced by a glitter stomp, and velvet jackets and opera glasses are out, replaced by tight trousers and cocaine. Lestat's response to the salacious biography is to form a glam band and record an album. A flashforward reveals an elite auctioneer selling memorabilia from the project, including an audio diary on vinyl, referring to “the events of the 2025 album and supporting tour, and the global catastrophes that sprung from [them]”.
A Risky Shift in Tone
While Lestat becoming a rock singer happens in the Rice books, the shift is risky. The critically panned 2002 movie Queen of the Damned and Elton John's 2006 Broadway musical Lestat both struggled with the concept. The wholesale shift in tone threatens to turn the sleek vampire drama into a mashup of Hedwig and the Angry Inch and Daisy Jones & the Six. However, Sam Reid's uninhibited performance as a Jim Morrison-style lizard king makes it work, despite the retro cheesiness of the songs, which are pitched between Iggy Pop, Mott the Hoople, and the Dandy Warhols.
Roaring Fun and Dark Humor
The series is roaring fun, with moments like the Albanian gangster doppelganger also played by Reid, and Lestat nearly overdosing on a fan's blood rich in MDMA and LSD, which he calls “the Torvill and Dean of hallucinogenics”. The show draws easy but rewarding comparisons between the famous artist and the undead bloodsucker, both hiding alienation behind hedonism. Vampires draining blood serves as a metonym for casual sex, and the series capitalizes on a vampire celebrity taking exploitation to another level. Lestat is empty-hearted due to romantic disappointment, heightening the loneliness of the platinum-selling singer.
A Drama Without Shame
The Vampire Lestat demands to be taken seriously and works to earn respect, before mocking you with silliness. Trusting it fully would be a mistake, but there's something invigorating about a drama that never apologizes and knows no shame. The series aired on BBC Two and is on iPlayer in the UK and on AMC+ in Australia and the US.
